Brockovich gives inspirational talk

• Tweet
• 

There’s a lot that can be said about a woman who can bring an entire corporation to its knees. There’s even more to say when that woman is a single mother struggling to make ends meet.

When the real Erin Brockovich took the stage at Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium Wednesday night, her message was clear:

“No, I did not marry the biker dude,” she said.

Brockovich, who became famous when the law firm she works for in California won a civil lawsuit against the Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation for polluting the water in Hinckley, Calif., spoke for an hour about how her life has changed since.

“My father taught me honesty,” she said. “I got grounded for an entire semester for lying about skipping school. … When I started my work at Hinckley, I understood the true impact of a lie.

“Lying is a deadly cancer.”

In her hour long speech, Brockovich touched on numerous topics, including having dyslexia which made getting an education tough.

“Growing up with a learning disability made getting through school difficult,” she said. “But if I had to do it all over again, I’d go for my Ph.D.”

Reese junior Lisa Sommer, Program Board public relations chairwoman, said she was impressed by the turnout.

“This was an excellent turnout, especially at the end of the semester with papers due and finals coming up,” she said.

Although the majority of students enjoyed the speech, one CMU student said it didn’t sound as genuine as it could have been.

“It seemed a bit practiced,” said Danny Schmittler, Mount Pleasant freshman. “But the points were inspirational.”

Mount Pleasant freshman Kelly Feight said she was inspired by Brockovich’s message.

“I’ll never forget some of the things she said, like ‘Be the best you can, not the best out of everyone,’” Feight said. “I also liked how she took her weaknesses and made strengths out of them.”

One strength, said Brockovich’s husband of four years (“It’s the longest relationship I’ve ever had,” Brockovich said) is her ability to not disconnect from the common person.

“I realize she’s not just my wife. She’s a public figure now,” Eric Ellis said. “She’s not a celebrity who is out of touch with the common person, so when we are at events like this, it’s a good thing.

“She’s a humble and real person.”

After her speech, Brockovich spent two hours signing autographs and having her picture taken with students and community members. Clarkston senior Brian Fitzgerald got Ellis’ autograph stating for the record that Ellis, indeed, was not “the biker dude.”